Court directs Governor Punjab either administer oath or nominate official
LAHORE
Chief Justice Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti on Wednesday directed Governor Punjab Omar Sarfraz Cheema to either administer oath to the Chief Minister Punjab-elect Hamza Shehbaz or nominate another official for it. The chief justice while announcing a reserved verdict over delay in oath taking of the newly elected chief minister directed the governor Punjab to hold oath-taking ceremony by today (Thursday). “The court’s order should immediately be conveyed to the governor and president,” the LHC said as the chief justice remarked that the province is being run without a chief executive for 25 days.
The court further said in its order that currently Usman Buzdar is acting as chief minister and the governor as per the Constitution is bound to take oath from the newly elected chief minister.
Previously, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had directed President Arif Alvi to nominate another official to take oath from Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shehbaz after Governor Omar Sarfraz refused to administer oath to him. The court ruled that the governor could not refuse to administer oath to the chief minister-elect and the president should appoint another person to administer oath to Hamza Shehbaz.
The court also directed to send a copy of the decision to the president for implementation on the orders within 24 hours. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had approached the LHC in a bid to have the governor of Punjab administer the chief minister’s oath to Hamza Shahbaz, the newly elected chief executive of the province. Hamza Shahbaz stated that he had been elected as the Punjab chief minister on April 16, during a provincial assembly session held under the LHC’s direction and that he had secured 197 votes out of 371. He reiterated that he had won the simple majority in the contest, after which the Acting Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari provided copies of the result to Punjab Governor Omer Sarfraz Cheema to fulfill the requirement of oath under the rules. The petitioner said that the governor had, however, been reluctant to administer the oath to him.
Following the verdict, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said: “Worst among [Imran Khan’s] damaging legacy is blatant defiance [and] undermining of constitutional authority.” “Unfortunate that from president to [deputy]/speaker NA to governor [Punjab], those holding high offices have chosen blind loyalty to their leader [at the] expense of their constitutional responsibilities,” he wrote on Twitter.
Speaking to journalists after the verdict was announced, PML-N senior leader Atta Tarar reiterated that the governor has to administer the oath by tomorrow, urging them to abide by the Constitution. “The governor was interpreting the Constitution on his own, which was declared incorrect by the Constitution,” he said, adding that both the governor and President Arif Alvi violated the Constitution as they did not implement the order of the high court.
